ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The annual New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque has a new sponsor. The college football bowl will be named the Isleta New Mexico Bowl. The Isleta Pueblo, ESPN events and the New Mexico Bowl announced a new multi-year title sponsorship on Friday. “It is a point of pride and excitement for us to be a part of something so large,” said CEO for Isleta Resort and Casino, Karl Waitner.

Waitner said they’re looking to grow with the new deal sponsoring the New Mexico Bowl. This will be the first time since 2021 that a group has paid for the bowl’s naming rights. The last sponsor was a video game called PUBG Mobile in 2021. Before that, Gildan was the title sponsor from 2011 to 2017.

The game briefly had another sponsor lined up in 2019 when Dreamhouse Productions took over. Just three weeks after that announcement though, ESPN terminated the deal amid questions over the company’s legitimacy. “To have a local title partner with the brand recognition, the reputation of who Isleta is, our people are really fired up,” said Executive Director of the Isleta New Mexico Bowl, Jeff Siembieda.

With Isleta now sponsoring the 18th New Mexico Bowl, Siembieda mentioned the contract should bring stability to the December game which is often the first bowl game of the season.

The ESPN-owned property did not disclose how long this partnership will last. They do however it’s a multi-year agreement.

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The Isleta New Mexico Bowl, one of 17 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, will be played at University Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 16. It could feature teams from the Mountain West, The American Athletic Conference, The Mid-American Conference, or The Sun Belt.

It will air nationally on ESPN and ESPN Radio.